Wanderers
by Yumeko nee
Summary: The greatest journey they could have asked for, yet never did. AU


**Another story to add to the pile of unfinished-stories-that-need-updates, yay!**

**This one was particulary fun to write**

**Special thanks to my lovely beta, Akari Ito**

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Chapter 1:

**_In which three strangers are bound by destiny, or rather a blue haired dude_**

. . .

Silence nothing but silence, then she hears something the steady rhythm of the rain. Drip, drip, drop the rhythm of the rain caressing the world beneath it. She then finds herself alone on a deserted street with no one around. Where am I she wonders not knowing how she got here nor why she is here in the first place. She walks forward not knowing where she is going anyway.

She continues walking not paying attention, walking through puddles that have formed on the irregular pavement. The rain cascades down her body soaking her, but she doesn't care, she finds the rain pleasing. Her hair clung to her face and neck while she continued her way under the rain.

She looks around herself not seeing anyone, she is alone in the foreign place. She does not mind, she takes in her surroundings seeing old houses, new apartment complexes, and various stores. This place has everything, she stops walking after she hears a sound one other than the rain.

She turns to her right she sees a cafe with tables sitting in front of it and on one of those tables she sees a glass. The glass isn't empty but it doesn't have a drink in it, only ice cubes were in it. She heard the sound again, she realizes that she was hearing the ice collide with each other in the glass.

Is she really the only one here she wonders. The next moment she is no longer touching the ground, her heart and stomach are in her throat. She desperately tries to grab onto something from the light of the street she was just on. Her attempts were in vain as she continued to plummet while she screamed with all she had.

* * *

She gasps for air as she reaches the surface of the water. Once she is able to breathe normally she sits up from the floor, wait the floor where was she? She wonders why she was lying on the floor, her heartbeat begins to beat rapidly. She accesses her surroundings, she finds herself to be in a room. The room is a living room, a very large and fancy one. Normally rooms like this felt cold to her, however, the burgundy carpets, the fire near by, the fine furniture, and candlestick chandelier make it feel warm and welcoming.

She continues to search the room when her thoughts a startled when a man begins to talk. "The first one has arrived." The girl's eyes fly open her heart beating faster than before if that was possible. She already was wondering who owned this place and how she had gotten here when his voice startled here. Her surprise is expected because she was the only person in this room. Or at least, that is what she has thought before hearing his voice.

She turns around a large chair with flower patterns and high back is in the middle of the room, one of those chairs normal people would already think is a throne just by taking a glimpse at it. It's not, but it's clearly something only people from a high class have, and sitting on the beautiful piece of furniture, a guy with blue hair just like her, maybe a tone darker, she gapes.

There were now several reasons to cause her jaw drop. First and the most shocking of all, she is pretty sure that chair and young man weren't there before. In second place, it would have been understandable that the man has just come in in the room, but what about the chair? How did he move it there without her noticing? Finally the third reason she is still in silence while she should be asking many questions of him, is his red tattoo spreading under and above his right eye, to be precise .

She wonders why that little detail on his face has caught her attention. It is not a regular one; she has seen tons of tattoos, but something is definitely different on the one she is contemplating right now. What is this feeling? she asks herself, and after a few seconds or maybe just on the next one, she finds the right words to describe it.

Power,that large symbol around his eye marks him as someone different, it distinguishes him from other people who are not on his level. He is powerful; he is above others, but above which others? Why can she read all this from just a single tattoo?

A playful smirk spreads across his face. His elbows rest on each arm of the chair, his fingers intertwined in front of his chest. He is wearing a long deep-blue jacket over a white shirt and black vest, a cravat around his neck. White pants, black boots; it's almost funny how one of his feet moves back and forth, one leg crossed over the other. It reminds her of a cat with it's tail swirling around as it looks at its prey.

He seems delighted by her presence and confusion.

The blue haired girl arches an eyebrow and opens her mouth, finally willing to get some answers. "Wh-"

"Wait a few minutes, please," he raises a hand asking her to remain in silence. "All your questions will be answered briefly." he assures and for some reason she's far from understanding, she nods slowly and clutches her lips into a line.

With the same hand he has cut her off, he looks for something in the pocket of his vest. A thin golden chain shines with the light coming from the fire place and she recognizes a pocket watch on his hand. He lifts the circular metal lid from over the watch-dial and reads the time. "It shouldn't take them much longer."

The girl staring at him blinks. Them? So he is waiting for other people to show up?

There's a sudden blow of wind, coming from... She glances to every wall. There's no window for wind to come inside the room. She looks up to the ceiling and gapes, her eyes widen as she stares with disbelief. A drop, a huge drop. And not of water or any other liquid; it's a drop dripping from the ceiling but she doesn't know a drop of what.

When the large globule hits the floor, a young girl with dark blue hair that reaches down to her waist appears laying on the floor and the blowing wind stops. She's asleep, and the well awake girl not too far from her looks at her sleeping figure with an open mouth.

"The second". The blue haired girl glances at the man sitting on the chair; his smile has widened even more. "Now where is the third?" he wonders as his fingers intertwine again. As if answering his question, another sudden current of air starts. She looks at the ceiling as another drop of something drips from it, just like a few seconds ago.

This time it's a man. He's asleep too, just like the petite girl laying on his side. His face is so pierced up, the blue haired girl thinks staring at the studs on his eyebrows, nose and chin. He's tall and muscular, black tank top and black baggy pants, the opposite color of the dress the young girl beside him is wearing, which is plain white.

"Marvelous" the blue haired guy says and the other awake person doesn't need to look at him to know his smile has widened again.

She takes a step back as the dark blue haired girl's eyes shot open. She gasps loudly and straighten up from the floor with wide eyes. In the next second, the black haired guy does the same. Both of them glance at their surroundings and frowns after spotting the blue haired girl on her feet and the blue haired guy on the chair.

The first girl who has appeared on the room wonders if that's the way she got there, dripping from the ceiling.

Claps echo through the room and the three people, who don't have the slightest idea of what's going on, stare at the blue haired guy striking the palms of his hands together, who obviously knows exactly why they are there.

"First of all, allow me to introduce myself" the man stands up pointing at himself. "I'm Jellal Fernandes, the person who has summoned you here and is deeply thankful to you for answering my call" he says quickly bowing his head.

Three frowns and three confused looks.

"What the hell?" The black haired guy snorts. "I don't know you and I have never heard of you, what call are you talking about?" he says, out-speaking the same thought of the two girls beside him.

"W-where are we?" the little female starts fidgeting. The remaining blue haired girl chooses to keep quiet.

The man named Jellal chuckles. "I will start explaining from the beginning. Why don't you take a seat?" he asks politely while sitting down on his chair. The other three frown and he points behind them with a nod of his head. They turn around and find three beautiful chairs, not as magnificent as the one Jellal is sitting on though, perfectly placed behind them. How-?

They glance back with open mouths at the blue haired guy smiling at them. "Please, sit down for the time being. Everything will be explained" he says crossing his legs. They blink for a few seconds still on their feet then sit on their respective chairs slowly, staring at the mysterious man.

"Good" he nods seeing that they have agreed to take a seat. "Now, let me congratulate you for your awakening as real mages" he cheerfully says with his arms wide open.

"What?!" the black haired guy yells, his hands squeezing the armchairs at his sides. The youngest of the girls gapes utterly speechless as the oldest one frowns deeply asking "what do you mean".

The blue haired guy in front of them laughs. "Surprised; didn't expect otherwise, though. This is without a doubt the best part of my job" he says intertwining his fingers with a delightful smile. "When I give off the new to people, they react on their own way. But they are all expressions of the same kind; surprise and bewilderment mixed on their countenance".

The tallest man frowns. "Awakening? Mages? Job? What the heck are you talking about?!" he growls at him.

"Calm down, Gajeel-san" Jellal says still smiling, and after seeing the black haired guy taken aback by his words, he adds "Oh, that's right. Why don't you introduce yourselves? I already know your names, but you should say hi between you three" glancing at each one of them.

The three strangers exchanges looks briefly. The guy is the first one who mumbles "Gajeel Redfox" between gritted teeth.

The petite girl in the middle of Gajeel and the other blue haired girl is the next one. Clutching the hem of her dress and glancing from one to the other, she stutters "W-Wendy Marvell" in a timid voice.

The remaining not-introduced girl looks first at the other two who, just like her, don't have a clue on the last incidents. Then, her eyes shifts from them to stare at their "summoner" with distrust. "Juvia Lockser" she mutters with barely cracked lips.

"Excellent!" the blue haired guy says. "Now let me tell you a rather long story" his right feet starts moving back and forth and he ends up in the same position Juvia has first seen him in.

"Not until too long, you were commoners, mere humans. But now, you have just turned into real mages. The ones of your kind have always written a lot of wonderful stories and theories about magic, but never actually proved that exists. That's because only a few out of thousands are blessed with this gift. If there are actual mages, where are they, how come I have never seen one? you may be wondering after hearing this. And the answers is, they are hidden, of course. Why? As many of those stories written by brilliant humans who knew their kind truly well have already say, this selected group of people would be automatically hunted by the ones who doesn't posses the power known as magic. There has already been a good example of this in history; remember those antique times in which "witches" were hunted down? Well, they were sadly 100% humans, but there you have a proof of man's envy and morbid nature. Have you ever imagined how terrible a war between magical beings and non-magical being would be? If you haven't, then don't, just stay pure".

"Balance. Humans always dream and drool over this word. Equality between people from any race, of every place; the same rights for every male or female on earth. Sure, there have been real people hoping to achieve this utopian balance, but just as there have been some of those, some of the other side have been there too, leading to wars, deaths and all the horrors humanity have already experienced. And who knows which are the ones ahead of them?"

"Either way, if you are wondering why I'm saying all this blabber that you have not only studied back at school -or started learning about, in the case of young Wendy-san- but also seen, since you are living in that rotten world, I must say that I've been answering to the question of what my job is".

"I'm a Great Mage, someone in charge of guiding new wizards just like you hoping that you will agree with my vision of the present. I bring the "newbies" to my place, on this very room at my very house. Where do I live? Another dimension than the one currently going on at planet Earth. And yes, there are many of them, dimensions or alternate universes, I mean".

"My vision? Protect the actual delicate balance, a duty inherited from my master, Makarov Dreyar. Another thing that is completely true and that's been said on those stories of yours is, there are always mages hoping to take over the world. You know, exterminate the so called "muggles", as normal people is called on that famous novel, Harry Potter if I'm not mistaking the name"

"Pretty difficult, since there are too many worlds. That's why mages who thinks just like me are scattered all around them. Are there other people just like me, the same person in other worlds? Yes, there are. But don't worry; if you were to meet another you in another world, well, it's like I have just said. Another world; another timeline, another history. Nothing will change; you will probably faint from surprise after seeing yourself duplicated, but that's it. Now, the curious thing is, the fact that the you on planet Earth is a mage doesn't mean the you on another world is. Why? The same person may develop this inner strength on a higher of lower level depending on the context he or she is in".

"As it always happens, there have been a great exponent of "the dark side" on this brand new story I'm telling you. Name: Zeref. He had lead many dark mages, trying to accomplish his goal. Which was it? Simple, take over the world, as I have mentioned not too long ago. The worst part of it? He wanted to take over all the worlds".

"With his followers, after many wars against not only humans but also mages, he accomplished part of this ambition. Nowadays, worlds with only mages as their inhabitants are the noisiest ones. And the remaining ones, in which normal humans are the great majority, are the target of the mages who have decided to inherit Zeref's will".

"Have you noticed that I've been talking in past tense? Zeref is dead. Or that's what we, "light mages", hope. Truth be told, he had managed to hide parts of his soul in many objects and spread them all around many worlds before his physical body died. I don't know how J. K. Rowling got her hands over the knowledge of Horcruxes, but thanks to her I'm pretty sure you know how they work".

"Why have I brought you here? I want you to cooperate with me. I've got an special mission for you: look for those objects Zeref had put his soul in. Why have I chosen you? Because you excel from the average mages, even when you have just awaken".

Jellal Fernandes finally falls in silence after what have turned into a long story just like he has said before starting his speech. He looks at them with a soft smile plastered on his lips, waiting. Gajeel, Wendy and Juvia are too startled to even blink. "So, have I answered some of your questions, more or less?" he asks, restraining the chuckles from coming out of his mouth.

The three of them open and close their mouths many times.

After a long while, Wendy is the first one who surprisingly finds her voice. "D-do you really expect as to believe this?"

Somewhat encouraged by the petite girl, the black haired guy frowns. "Yeah, what is all this shit you are trying to sell us?!"

The blue haired guy chuckles. "Now, now; I know it's difficult to digest all of this at first. But you can't tell me that you haven't been through 'the awakening', right?" he asks and when nothing is said by the other three, he adds "Think so".

The man stands up from his chair and starts walking through the room as curiosity about his words grows. Somehow, they know that they have, indeed, wake up. And not just from sleep, but from something else.

"Awakening. The process on which a new mage discovers what his or her magic is like. You literally wake up from a dream, a dream greatly influenced by your own magic manifesting for the very first time". He stops glancing to his living room to stare at them; a wide smirk spreads across his face. "Only the mage sees that dream and even mages with the same type of magic have different "awakening" dreams. So tell me," he is now standing in front of them. "which great talents have just been discovered?"

Juvia Lockser gapes. So it has been a dream, the walk through the deserted street under the rain? Has that been her "awakening" dream? No, that can't be. The man in front of her is clearly insane, he must be the weirdest kidnapper in history. But as she glances at the faces of the other two beside her, she finds the same expression of bewilderment. Have they too have those strange dreams?

Jellal laughs. "Judging by your faces, you have been through the process. Gajeel-san," he calls and the black haired guy snaps out of his thoughts closing his mouth, "would you mind telling us what your dream was like?" the blue haired guy finishes going back to his chair.

Gajeel Redfox ponders about his next words until the man has sat down. "A forge. I was walking through one of those, sweating like a pig thanks to the heat as the noise of many blacksmiths working filled my ears".

Another wayfarer, the blue haired girl thinks after hearing him. "Hmm, interesting" Jellal says and shifts his eyes from the black haired guy to her. "Juvia-san, what about you?"

Juvia gapes for a moment, surprised of him turning the attention to her. "Uhm, I was strolling down a street. It was only me and, uhm, it was slightly raining" she explains looking at the burgundy carpet under her feet.

"Good," he looks at the remaining girl, "Wendy-san?"

"Y-Yes!" she squeaks. "I-I was falling from the sky" she mumbles with a shaky voice.

"That's it?" Gajeel asks looking down at her.

Wendy Marvell looks up at him, nodding. "Yes, I was simply falling but I never seemed to reach the ground" she shrugs.

"Well, you will fully discover your magic when the right time has come". Jellal claps his hands. "Alright, now I will proceed to introduce you the fourth member of the team!" he says smiling as usual, but the curl on his lips seems to falter a bit when Gajeel stands up.

"Wait a fucking minute! I don't trust you, and I'm not buying this mad story of you. I always dream when I'm sleep, even If I have fainted!" the man states. "If it's money what you want, I don't have many and no one will give a single penny for me! Now set me free if you don't want a broken bone" he threatens with narrowed eyes.

The blue haired guy is clearly discontented by this as he frowns for the first time. "Gajeel-san, I knew that you don't have manners but I do hope this journey will help you gain them. Now seat down please" he says with disapproval raising a hand; his index finger curls.

Gajeel shrieks in surprise as the chair behind him dashes forward, clashing with his legs. With a loud thud, the black haired guy is sitting again. He glances down at himself and the piece of furniture before looking up at Jellal. "W-what-?" he groans with wide eyes just like the ones from the two girls.

"Haven't you heard me? I'm a Great Mage, and moving objects it's one of the easiest things to do" Jellal says, the smile returning to his face as if nothing has happened. "I've been many years around; mages aren't immortal, their life expectancy is just like that of an average human. But I'm different because I have assumed a truly important task: I'm getting older but at a very slow pace. It's complicate to explain now since you have just been thrown into this reality, but I can tell you the story some other time in the future if you want"

Gajeel, Wendy and Juvia are still gaping. Is this man telling them the truth? The chair has just moved because of his swirling finger, right?

"But, even being powerful as I am, there's a type of magic not even me can achieve and that's the ability to travel through dimensions. So, if you are wondering how you are going to jump from one world to the other during your mission, let me introduce you the fourth member of your team! Lily, come in please"

What they assume to be a bright magic circle appears in mid air. A soft breeze blows as the light coming from the circle intensifies, but stops when a brown furred cat with wings shows up. The feline looks at them with narrowed eyes and crossed little arms over its chest. It lands on two paws over Jellal's head.

"And here you have: Phanter Lily, the exceed! Lily, they are Juvia, Wendy and Gajeel"

"Hmm, they seem pretty stupid with those open mouths" he says before looking down at the great mage. "Are you sure they are the right ones?"

The blue haired guy nods. "Yes" he answers with confidence.

"T-The cat talks?!" Juvia yells in surprise as Wendy covers her open mouth with both hands.

Gajeel is just as startled as them. "N-Not only that, it has fricking wings on its back!" he adds pointing with a shaking arm.

The brown cat snorts. "Disrespectful novices who can not tell the difference between a cat and an exceed" he frowns and glares at the trio.

"Lily, be patient. Gajeel, Wendy, Juvia; Lily is an Exceed, a magical creature who posses the power to trespass the limits between the different worlds. He will guide you during your trip in my place, getting us on touch whenever is needed and helping you cross through the many dimensions".

"What? We are going on no trip here!" The black haired guy groans standing up. "I'm going out of this place, I'm sick of your weird tricks" he says taking a step forward.

Lily stretches out a paw and points it to his feet; a pitch dark hole opens in the floor and Gajeel screams as he falls through it. The two blue haired girls gasp with wide eyes, staring at the void the black haired guy has disappeared through. They are about to shout when Gajeel lands on the chair beside them, still yelling with fear and surprise. They exchange confused and stunned looks before glancing at the blue haired guy and the cat on the top of his head.

"The exceed's magic centers around the distortion of space; they can travel through the alternate universes as well as modify their space, as you have just seen" he explains and starts chuckling. "These are 'no tricks' as you can see" he says and Lily laughs.

"Now, straight to the point. Gajeel-san, I don't expect any of you to do what a complete stranger asks you to do for free" the look in his eyes turns serious. "If you fulfill the job I have given you, I will grant you a wish. And not a random one, but the one your heart yearns with all its might"

The three people in front of him gape; this person is trying to make a deal with them. If it haven't been for the paranormal displays they have witnessed, they would have still thought he was a mad kidnapper trying to get money from them. But he is 'a great mage' and he has an offer. Grant a wish; that reminds Juvia of Aladdin and the blue genie.

They look away from him, pondering about the events of the past half an hour. It all sounds so bizarre, so impossible; yet they start believing him. It's like when someone gives you a bad new; at first, you keep on saying "no, it can't be" inwardly, but sooner or later, your brain realizes it is actually happening. Their minds are a huge mess; they want to ask the many questions waiting to get their answers all at once, but there are far too many and they don't know from which one start.

Are they real mages? Does magic truly exist? Great mage, a winged talking cat, weird dreams, and this strange feeling that all of that is suddenly possible. What they have always labeled as 'science fiction' or 'fantasy' is becoming a reality. Their reality, and no one can blame them for being utterly stunned, disoriented, and all the synonyms of confused.

The oldest blue haired girl looks up at Jellal. "Why us?" she simply asks frowning.

The blue haired man blinks surprised by her question. "Oh, remember when I said that the same person may develop his or her magical power in different levels according to their environment? It turns out that you, or rather your magic, are truly strong because of your wills" he smiles and glances from one to the other. "I have sensed your inner force even before you have awakened, and I have called you for I'm sure you will be able to complete this mission. On your past lives as simple humans you were already determinate enough to fight for your desires. Magic is like a little bud and it is inside every person; it this bud blooms or not depends on your own inner strength and, why don't say it, luck. This doesn't mean that someone who haven't been through a tough life will never awaken as a mage, or in the other hand, someone who have have a miserable life will develop a great magic ability. Truth be told, it is difficult to explain all of this; not even me knows exactly how magic works" he finishes with a sincere shrug.

Juvia gapes along with Gajeel and Wendy. The blue haired man chuckles. "Any other question?" he asks but the three people in front of him are speechless. "If it's so, you should get going, Lily!"

"What?! No, wait!"

The brown exceed sighs briefly. "You never listen to others, do you?" he smirks as a large magic circle appears above their heads; Gajeel, Wendy and Juvia glance up with wide eyes. They try to hold on their seats but the sucking wind which has started blowing draws them in.

"WHAT THE DAMN HELL?!"

"G-GUNAAH!"

Jellal and Lily are the only ones in the room after the three people have disappeared through the magic portal. The brown cat flies off from the blue mane of the great mage and turns to look at him. "Be careful, your majesty"

The blue haired man laughs. "Don't call me that" he chuckles shaking his head. "Good luck and thank you, Lily".

The exceed nods in silence. He flies to the same spot Gajeel, Juvia and Wendy have disappeared through; the magic circle vanishes as soon as its summoner has gone through it.

Jellal Fernandes stares at the ceiling for a while; his smile widens as he intertwines his fingers. "Those three seems promising. Don't you think so, Ultear?"

From behind him, a woman with black long hair reaching her waist steps forward in silence. Her unchanging countenance seems undisturbed by his words.

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**I'm just taking the concept of horocruxes from HP and parallel universies from TRC, okay?**

**I'm not going to write a mix of these wonderful stories featuring Fairy tail's characters.**

**Just saying before someone jumps to wrong conclusions xD**

**Hope you trust me enough to know I'm not going to copy their plots or something like that!**

**With that being said, I must say I'm pretty excited with this story!**

Till next time

Yumeko-nee


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